So we got our big snow in the early morning of the 26th. I plow the drive way with the atv and the neighbor and I teamed up and plowed the street leading to the highway. (Street crews around here suck at clearing streets, they have 2 pickup trucks to do the work) I start up the prius and back it out of the drive way, I stop, put it in drive, it lurches forward about 3-4inches then stops. I put it in reverse, doesn't move, I barley touch the gas it moves backwards about 2-3inches then stops. Get out and notice the driver side tire is on a smashed chunk of snow. Neighbor gives me a 1-2ft push and I am on my way. I break early while approaching the stop sign, I stop, after another car slides through, I let off the brake and I'm stuck again!!! after15-20mins of screwing around trying to get on my way, I drag the car with the atv into the drive way. I get in my wife's car with more tread wear on the tires, I might spin for a second or two, but have been driving around in this winter wonderland with no problems. The driveway is now partly dry/ partly wet, prius drives up and down it with no problems. I even floor it, tires slip just a little but still no problems. I drive it to the stop sign where there is some slush/ice. Damn thing just sits there. Wife's car, tires might spin one revoloution but the whole time the car is moving. Do pri really suck this bad in these kind of conditions? Or do I need to fork out $125 per Studded tire just so I'm prepared for this kind of weather? FYI, this snow fall is more than what my area of Indiana has gotten for the last 3 years COMBINED! In other words, our average annual snow fall is roughly 4-6inches... But basically consists of 10-12 "light dustings" for the year.
Yes, The prius is worthless in snow. Until you get better tires anyway. I replaced my tires this summer and what a difference it makes for snow travel. And thats here in Minnesota. Good luck to you
Stock tires on 2nd gen Prius were worthless. We replaced them with a set of winter tires and a set of good all seasons (we had 2 Prii). Found out the all season worked just fine for us in MN winters.
You need better tires. Studded tires are not required. Worn out LRR tires are not going to cut it. Either get a set of all-season tires that are known to have decent snow traction like the Ecopia EP422, Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max or Hankook Optimo H727 or buy a set of real snow tires like Michelin X-ice Xi3 or Bridgestone Blizzak WS70.
I got the X-Ice. They haven't been fully tested yet, but I'm sure they are better than the original tires.
I have the Michelin X-Ices and they ROCK. To the OP - on my 07, the traction control will not render the car useless.... it just slows your roll right down. Your tires must be really bad. Even when I had my all-season summer tires on during that big snow last week (we got 6-8" "thats what she said") my Prius was trudging right through! FWIW, you might want to search the site for the not-recommended but acceptable if you absolutely have to method of disabling the traction control.
Here's a bit of a discussion on my initial attempt at snow driving in standard tires - The C - A Gutless Snow Machine | PriusChat . In my case, the traction control entered ALL STOP. Uphill against some snow and some ice = absolutely zero tire movement. Here's that thing on disabling traction control. I tried it. It works. It was just in the driveway. Disable Traction Control for winter situations? | PriusChat
